Magicjack?

[KC9LGV]

What do you guys think about magicjack an voip phone services like them? I know that almost everybody that is 25 or below around here uses cell phones only and have no land lines to their houses. I am the same way, but the magic of grounded aluminum siding makes cellular service in my house a shady affair at best. I just got a magicjack device but haven't dedicated a pc to it yet. I was just wondering if any of you guys/girls had any experience in the matter.

[KD7UNP]

What do you guys think about magicjack an voip phone services like them? I know that almost everybody that is 25 or below around here uses cell phones only and have no land lines to their houses. I am the same way, but the magic of grounded aluminum siding makes cellular service in my house a shady affair at best. I just got a magicjack device but haven't dedicated a pc to it yet. I was just wondering if any of you guys/girls had any experience in the matter.

I bought one of these at R.S. I really like it. Some folks say the quality of your connection is dependent to your internet speed. I don't know. I have 7megs and it works great. This would be a good question to ask. R.S. has a 30 day return-no questions asked policy on this item. One word of caution is in order here though. If you have the type of connection that auto-disconnects from the internet if you are not actively using it, do not plan on using this as a primary phone. It does not like to be disconnected without being "ejected" or shut down while it is running in the background. If you just plan to use it while you are using your computer, I say go for it.

Bob

[N2RJ]

MagicJack is simply standard SIP VOIP running on their custom USB to RJ11 device and using a custom soft phone. It is run by a company called YMAX corporation.

I use VOIP and it works fine for me. I have my own Asterisk PBX in my basement and use a few different providers for the best rates. Due to my low usage my phone bill is about $2 per month.

[KC2STS]

Due to over $10.00 in taxes, line charge and other fees per month added to my phone bill, I've considered the Magicjack. Does the computer have to stay on, or does the jack just work thru the modem somehow? I have high speed internet connection w/broadband cable.
Thanks,
Joe

[KF4VGX]

I have a friend that swears by it,well I mean she has a sailors mouth.

It seems her connection was working fine until her ISP somehow disconnected that particular service ,and left her voip phone dead?
Road Runner aparently did't like her free magic jack phone idea.

[KY5U]

Due to over $10.00 in taxes, line charge and other fees per month added to my phone bill, I've considered the Magicjack. Does the computer have to stay on, or does the jack just work thru the modem somehow? I have high speed internet connection w/broadband cable.
Thanks,
Joe

Vonnage and others who want to compete as a phone provider are in for a big suprise this year. They will have to pay the federal taxes, etc as the phone company does. Just a matter of time before they have fees out the wazoo too.

The other thing is they don't add the cost of your net provider to their prices. Yep it's 24.95 PLUS the 50 bucks a month for a fast provider link.

[KA4DPO]

Recently several friends have switched to this new dongle service. They complain about dropped calls, weird background audio, and crackling noises.

I'll just keep my plain old land line and cell phones. We have FIOS that gives us TV, phone, and internet service for $99.00 a month plus taxes and the usual government add on fees. We use Sprint for our cell phones and we're happy with it. Truth is, since both of us have retired we use the land line much more than our cell phones these days.

The biggest problem I see with VOIP is what if the power goes out? What if the internet goes down? What if your computer conks out? Our LL phone is actually copper, I kept it that way on purpose even though we could have switched it to fiber. It's bundled with the FIOS stuff since it's all Verizon anyway. The great thing about copper land lines is they will continue to work when the power is out if you use an old style corded phone.

[N5PVL]

Vonnage and others who want to compete as a phone provider are in for a big suprise this year. They will have to pay the federal taxes, etc as the phone company does. Just a matter of time before they have fees out the wazoo too.

The other thing is they don't add the cost of your net provider to their prices. Yep it's 24.95 PLUS the 50 bucks a month for a fast provider link.

I cough up the fifty bucks a month for cable access anyway, I do not consider it to be an added expense as far as MagicJack goes. - It's just another cutesy do-dad for the computer, saves me some time every once in a while.

I'm keeping my regular phone service, but have turned off all the extras I used to pay a monthly fee for. It's just basic service now.

[KC9JWA]

I have magic jack, i love it, it in my room , its peaceful and none else has hear it ring in wee hours, plus i know who calls i only gave the number to few buddys and family. it yearly fee defintally nice, not to expensive.

[NE3R]

Yes, the computer has to stay on for the Magic Jack to work. There are other over the internet telephone services that don't require a computer to be on, they typically are a little box with an Ethernet network jack on one side, and a rj-11 jack for a telephone on the other.

VOIP systems are nice, but they are not regulated like the telephone company, and they come nowhere near to meeting all of the reliability standards that the telephone company has to adhere to. In general, VOIP telephone services work well, and are good alternatives to the traditional land line. Keep in mind though, that they are only as reliable as your internet connection. Even blips that you may not notice on your computer could cause you to drop a VIOP call.

I personally would not use a VOIP internet phone as my only source for calling, I'd want to be sure that I had a mobile phone around (I'm actually mobile only these days).

73 de Joseph Durnal NE3R